John Wayne rides again

Page 4

There's a new anthem making the rounds in Indian country.

It goes:

O Canada, your home's on Native land,

With new patriot love we balk at your command.

With knowing hearts, we seethe and rise

The Mohawk, Blood and Cree.

And guard our stand, O Canada.

We'll guard our stand on thee..

God owns the land,

Not you or me.

O Canada we take a stand on thee.

O Canada we take a stand on thee.

While mainstream acceptance of the revised version may be a trifle slow in coming, the lyrics indicate the growing dissatisfaction on the part of aboriginal groups across the country and the accompanying unity. The times - as the old song goes - they are a-changing.

In days not long past it was virtually impossible to unite Native groups in Canada. The government had done a masterful job of employing the age-old divide-and-conquer method every single time issue arose. There was always a different manner of dealing with treaty, non-status, Metis and Inuit concerns. Indians had effectively become people of the label. Unity was problematic as long as government dictated the ways in which to approach them.

Treaty groups were reluctant to work with the Metis because their rights and, therefore their concerns, were different. Metis organizations wouldn't work with non-status groups for fear of impeding their own initiatives. Non-status lobbyists looked resentfully at the political motions of all the rest since they had no aboriginal rights at all. The Inuit quietly worked away at their settlements.

It's taken some time and a lot of effort on the part of the Indians and their politicians to bridge the considerable gaps created by government labels. These days Indian country has national rather than regional boundaries. The presence of the military in Oka is going to accomplish nothing more than to further unify the Indian nations as a kinetic political entity.

The Mulroney government would be wise to consider this.

Because it's nothing new. For almost 500 years the Indians have encountered superior force of numbers in the "civilization" of North America. Mulroney's deployment of troops is simply reinforcement of historical precedent. John Wayne rides again and "them savages" need to be put to rout.

The history of North America isn't the romanticized "pluck of the pioneers" stuff we've all been raised on. It's the history of struggle for control of the land.

It's the history of ethnocide disguised as democracy and progress. It's the history of avarice and the constant flaunting of the might of the white. It's the history of smallpox-infested blankets, residential schools, banning of spiritual practices, child abduction, the denial of self-sufficiency and flagrant breaches of international covenants.

Through it all, the sacred hoop of the Indian nations remains intact.

If you're not familiar with this particular history, you're not familiar with the real history of Canada. Nor are you familiar with the graphic realities behind the lives of Canada's Indians and the history of their struggles for survival.

Most importantly, you're not familiar with the real reason the prime ministers see fit to militarize the negotiation process.

Fear. The Indians have already won a major battle with the efforts of Elijah Harper in sinking the Meech Lake accord. They've already realized the political game in this country can be played by anyone with enough savvy to manipulate it. They've already infiltrated the parliamentary process, cast off the labels and emerged unified, fortified and justified. They've become a political danger.

For the Mohawks in Oka to gain anything is a loss to the government. It's another sign to the country there's something wrong with the federal position.

The army, as usual, is simply a pawn in a political chess game. In this case, however, only the white pieces get to move.

Perhaps all that time spent in George Bush's pocket is having its desired effect. After all, it's not sensible to sent troops all the way to the Gulfwhen you can kill off a few hundred people right at home. The winning, after all, is everything.

If it comes to it, killing the Mohawks won't end the dispute. There's unity in Indian country and despite the apparent might of the whites, they're not going to go away. There's a new anthem making the rounds in Indian Country and Mulroney would be wise to realize it's not just the Indians doing the singing.

EAGLE FEATHERS to all Native organizations in Canada for pulling together and continuing to fight for the "the true north strong and fee."

(Richard Wagamese is a full-time reporter with The Calgary Herald. He is also an associate producer of Spirit People, a Native documentary program produced by CFRN-TV in Calgary. His column is a weekly feature in The Herald and The Toronto Star. Wagamese was recently nominated and finished as runner-up in the National Newspaper Awards for column writing and was nominated for the President's Prize for column writing for the Southam newspaper chain.)